There are moments in life that define you, and they can be either joyful or heartbreaking. Author and speaker Josh James Riebock has experienced both. From his dreams of being a writer, and the decision to pursue a writing career full-time, to the loss of both his parents within three months of each other, Josh shares the defining moments of his story in Heroes and Monsters: An Honest Look at the Struggle Within All of Us.

With an uncommon sensitivity and self-reflection worthy of an old soul, Josh's journey explores the issues that make us human--family, love, dreams, grief and purpose. His memoir is a testament to the heart truth that God's creation, and life in all its splendor, are inextricably revealed through both pain and beauty.

Every one of us is both a hero and a monster, and the world we inhabit is both beautiful and twisted. We are shaken by changes, losses, gains, insights, desires, mistakes, and transitions. And just when we've gotten settled back down, things get shaken up again. This is the life we've been given. So how do we make sense of life's unexpected nature, find a way to embrace the tension, and live with a sense of peace despite pain?

In this stunningly honest, compelling, and ultimately hopeful book, Josh James Riebock explores issues of trust, obedience, intimacy, dreams, grief, purpose, and the unexpected stops along the journey that form us into the people we are. In a creative way, he shows readers that pain and beauty are so inextricably linked that to lose the former costs us the latter.

Those grappling with life's inconsistencies and trials will especially find a welcome resonance between their lives and Heroes and Monsters. Riebock both validates their experiences and challenges them to live beyond them in this ever-changing life.

Josh James Riebock is a sought-after speaker at conferences, colleges, and churches across the country. The author of mY Generation, he lives with his wife, Kristen, in Texas.

With transparent detail, Riebock (mY Generation: A Real Journey of Change and Hope) tells the story of his messy, confused, and gloriously grace-filled life in his sophomore effort. The book reads like a journal, or better yet, a graphic novel—complete with vivid illustrations of more pivotal episodes in the author’s life. While at times the story moves forward with the jerks of a teenage chauffeur, Riebock is able to transport readers nimbly to and from the painful, awkward, and meaningful moments of his life where mercy, love, and hope seep in through the seams. From the field where Riebock’s drunk father drives him right into Jack (a scarecrow who becomes Jesus’ alter ego in the book) to a hotel room in central Texas where an introvert gets comfortable with himself, Riebock’s struggles, both mundane and dramatic, reflect readers’ own life sagas and clearly reveal the author’s theological points without being systematic. As Riebock writes “Words are giants, able to lift people up, carry them to the stars, and tear planets apart...” his own locutions are vulnerable and imaginative, powerful without being forceful, certainly able to lift readers up and impart hope for the journey. (Mar.) 2012 Reed Business Information.

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